What Kinds of Things Should You Report?

If you know of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement in Department of Commerce programs and operations, report it to the OIG Hotline. This includes alleged/suspected wrongdoing by Department of Commerce employees, contractors, grantees, recipients of financial assistance, and others involved in the Department's programs and operations.

If you suspect that you have been retaliated against for whistleblowing, please contact the OIG Hotline or the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. For further information, please see Overview of OIG's Whistleblower Protection Program below.

Please note that OIG does not have authority to investigate EEO complaints, which may be filed by contacting the Department of Commerce, Office of Civil Rights.

Whether you report allegations via the online complaint form, phone, fax, mail, e-mail, or in person, OIG will not disclose your identity without your consent, unless the IG determines such disclosure is unavoidable during the course of the investigation.

Contact the Hotline 

Hotline Complaint Form

Submit a complaint using our online Complaint Form.

E-mail

Hotline@oig.doc.gov

Note: Because the Internet is not secure, it is possible, though unlikely, that e-mail complaints may be read by persons other than your intended source. If you are concerned about this you may choose to mail or call us. Please do not include Personally Identifiable Information (PII) through the website or via e-mail. PII is considered to be items containing Social Security numbers, dates of birth, credit card and passport numbers, or other personally identifying information that could adversely affect an individual. E-mails and web submissions containing such information will be blocked by our system administrator and will not be processed by our Complaint Department. Should you desire to provide this information, please contact the Hotline by telephone at the numbers listed below.

Phone

Toll Free 800.424.5197

In the DC metro area 202.482.2495

TTD Toll Free 855.860.6950

TTD in the DC metro area 202.482.5923

The OIG Hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Mail

Office of Inspector General
Complaint Intake Unit, Mail Stop 7886
1401 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20230

Fax

855.569.9235

Overview of OIG's Whistleblower Protection Program

A core value of OIG is protecting from unlawful reprisal the diligent employees of the Commerce Department and its contractors and grantees who step forward to identify potential wrongdoing in their organizations. A number of laws provide important whistleblower protections, including the Inspector General Act of 1978 and the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 for Commerce Department and other federal employees.

Coverage for contractor employees includes provisions of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994; the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (which establishes protections for employees of non-federal recipients of Recovery Act funds, to include grantees); the Federal Acquisition Regulations; and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009.

OIG's Whistleblower Protection Program—overseen by the Principal Assistant Inspector General for Investigations and Whistleblower Protection—carries out a number of key functions that include:

Reviewing and determining appropriate action for reprisal complaints filed with OIG.

Communicating with whistleblowers about (a) their complaints of reprisal for whistleblowing; and (b) the underlying fraud, waste, abuse, mismanagement, or danger to health/safety they disclosed internally to their employers and/or through external protected disclosures [such as to OIG, General Accounting Office (GAO), Congress].

Conducting and coordinating inquiries and investigations into alleged unlawful reprisal; and ensuring the timely reporting of investigative findings and recommendations for corrective action as appropriate.

Promoting awareness of, and compliance with, whistleblower protections through the Commerce Department.

Evaluating the sufficiency of policy and its dissemination across the Department regarding whistleblower protections and the right of employees to contact OIG and other oversight providers.

Assessing the extent to which the Department and its operating units foster a culture that encourages employees to raise concerns in an environment that is free of reprisal in any form.

Communicating with, and reporting to, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Congress, and other oversight entities on whistleblower protection matters.     

Whistleblower Protection Agency Certification

OIG has been certified by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for conducting training and promoting awareness of provisions of the Whistleblower Protection Act, 5 U.S.C. §2302(c).

In 1994, Congress responded to reports of widespread ignorance in the federal workforce concerning employees' right to be free from prohibited personnel practices (PPP), especially retaliation for whistleblowing, by enacting 5 U.S.C. §2302(c). That provision charges "[t]he head of each agency" with responsibility for "ensuring (in consultation with the Office of Special Counsel) that agency employees are informed of the rights and remedies available to them" under the prohibited personnel practice and whistleblower retaliation protection provisions of Title 5.

OSC's 2302(c) Certification Program allows federal agencies to meet the statutory obligation to inform their workforces about the rights and remedies available to them under the Whistleblower Protection Act and related civil service laws. Under the 2302(c) Certification Program, OSC will certify an agency's compliance with 5 U.S.C. §2302(c) if the agency meets the following five requirements:

Placing informational posters at agency facilities;

Providing information about PPPs and the WPA to new employees as part of the orientation process;

Providing information to current employees about PPPs and the WPA;

Training supervisors on PPPs and the WPA; and

Creation of a computer link from the agency's website to OSC's website.

How to File Whistleblower Reprisal Complaints

Department of Commerce federal employees and covered contractor/grantee employees may make reprisal complaints to OIG by contacting the Hotline.

Commerce employees and covered contractor/grantee employees may may also file complaints with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which under the Whistleblower Protection Act has sole authority to both investigate and prosecute complaints of reprisal against whistleblowing employees (as well as other Prohibited Personnel Practices).

Important Notice: Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 Required Statement — Nondisclosure Agreements

Pursuant to the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012, the following statement applies to every nondisclosure policy, form, or agreement of the Government (with current or former federal employees), including those in effect before the Act's effective date of December 27, 2012:

"These provisions are consistent with and do not supersede, conflict with, or otherwise alter the employee obligations, rights, or liabilities created by existing statute or Executive order relating to (1) classified information, (2) communications to Congress, (3) the reporting to an Inspector General of a violation of any law, rule, or regulation, or mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or (4) any other whistleblower protection. The definitions, requirements, obligations, rights, sanctions, and liabilities created by controlling Executive orders and statutory provisions are incorporated into this agreement and are controlling."

The controlling Executive Orders and statutory provisions include, as of December 27, 2012:

Executive Order No. 13526 (75 Fed. Reg. 707), or any successor thereto; section 7211 of title 5, United States Code (governing disclosures to Congress); section 1034 of title 10, United States Code, as amended by the Military Whistleblower Protection Act (governing disclosure to Congress by members of the military); section 2302(b)(8) of title 5, United States Code, as amended by the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012 (governing disclosures of illegality, waste, fraud, abuse or public health or safety threats); the Intelligence Identities Protection Act of 1982 (50 U.S.C. 421 et seq.) (governing disclosures that could expose confidential Government agents); sections 7(c) and 8H of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) (relating to disclosures to an inspector general, the inspectors general of the Intelligence Community, and Congress); section 103H(g)(3) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 403–3h(g)(3) (relating to disclosures to the inspector general of the Intelligence Community); sections 17(d)(5) and 17(e)(3) of the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 403q(d)(5) and 403q(e)(3)) (relating to disclosures to the Inspector General of the Central Intelligence Agency and Congress); and the statutes which protect against disclosure that may compromise the national security, including sections 641, 793, 794, 798, and 952 of title 18, United States Code, and section 4(b) of the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 783(b)).